Ted Grant

Democracy and discipline

The right wing
majority on the NEC is trying more and more to consolidate and extend
its grip on the party machine with all sorts of manoeuvres,
expulsions, bans and tricks. At the same time its leading exponents
constantly appeal to the Constitution and utter appeals for unity in
the party. Gaitskell, speaking on the result of the West Lothian
bye-election, made the latest appeal for unity so that the labour
movement could seize what was in his opinion the greatest opportunity
for forming a Labour government the Labour Party has had since 1945.

Farce of Russell’s subscription

At
the same time there has been the petty trick of the organisation
sub-committee to declare that Earl Russell is not a member of the
party because he has not had his dues collected for 1962! One can be
sure that a telephone call or letter would soon have set right any
oversight on this question. The capitalist press has seized with joy
the opportunity to ridicule the Labour Party at such a mean and
stupid manoeuvre to avoid the issue of expelling or not expelling
Earl Russell for attending a Conference in Moscow called by an
organisation on the Labour Party’s proscribed list.

Perhaps
the NEC sub-committee hoped that by the time the dues were paid the
Conference would be over and done with long before its next meeting
and that of the NEC! Thus they could avoid the issue of principle.

Earl
Russell himself wittily put forward the issues when he was solemnly
warned that he was violating Conference decisions:

“…There
seems to be two sorts of decisions at Labour Party conferences. There
are the decisions that Gaitskell approves of—those are binding upon
every individual member of the Labour Party. There are the decisions
that he does not approve of. Those are not only not binding on him,
but the opposite is supposed to be binding on everybody else.”

Alienation of
young people

Not
only on this question but on other issues as well the leadership of
the Party is behaving in a bureaucratic fashion. There is the issue
of the seven members of the National Committee of the Young
Socialists whose views are apparently too much to the left for the
majority of the NEC. They have been interviewed by the organisation
sub-committee and their fate is to be discussed by the NEC. This
intolerance may ruin the possibility of building a viable mass youth
movement. Certainly the attitude towards the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament (CND) has prevented thousands of young people from
joining the Labour Party.

To
make sure that the Parliamentary Party is firmly under control,
Transport House is exerting pressure to see that only “orthodox”
Gaitskellite or right-wing candidates are selected. Ernie Roberts,
assistant general secretary of the AEU, has been refused official
endorsement despite the wishes of the constituency party which
selected him. Councillor Harrington of Paddington, an active
supporter of CND, selected by the Dover constituency, has also been
refused endorsement by the NEC because of alleged associations with a
proscribed organisation. Councillor Harrington commented “It is
shocking that the right wing can act so venomously and risk throwing
up seats which have to be won at a general election. This case is a
dangerous precedent…”

Protests
needed

The
labour movement justly prides itself on its democratic procedures and
traditions. But unless the membership asserts itself the party can
become a bureaucratised shell. If the policy of the party is to be
decided by the membership and not imposed from above then the
constituencies and union branches must actively protest against all
violations of democratic procedures and violation of conference
decisions.

The
attitude of the lower ranks of the party was demonstrated when
despite the furore of the capitalist press and a demagogic and
mendacious campaign the London and Glasgow Labour parties refused to
take any action against those young members guilty of rushing the
platform as a result of the provocative speeches of Gaitskell and
George Brown. Very sensibly and in order to promote real unity in the
party they let the issue die. If the leadership is seriously desirous
of promoting the unity of the party they would follow this example.
Unity will only be obtained by making a serious attempt to carry out
the socialist aspirations of the rank and file.